Contact-box for electric railways



No. 627,476. Patented June 27, I899. w. m. snow".

CONTACT BOX FOB ELECTRIC BAILWAYS.

(Application filed Sept. 30, 1898.)-

(No Model.)

f me 36 a.

A1NYENT0R TORNEI.

0.. WASNIHGTOH n c UNITED STATES PATENT \VILLIAM MILT. BROIVN, OF JOIINSTOVVN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE LORAIN STEEL COMPANY, OF OIIIO.

I CONTACT-BOX FOR TELECTR'IC RAILWAYS;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,476, dated June 27, 1899.

Application filed September 3'0 1898. SerialNo; 692,269. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

State of Pennsylvania, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Electric Contact- Boxes, of which the following is a full, clear,

and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to electriccontactboxes for that class of railways in which an underground circuit closer. is operated by.

means carried by the passing car, temporarily closing the circuit to the contact portion of the box. a

The principal part of my invention has for its object the provision of an improved circuit-closer in which certain causes of occasional leakage are eliminated. The ordinary form of circuit-closer for this purpose is inclosed in a sealed vessel, and the sourceof leakage which I desire to prevent is due to the formation of a coating of extraneous con-' ducting material on the interior walls of' the vessel, which sometimes accumulates to such an extent that there is ultimately considerable leakage from one of the electrodes of the circuit-closer along the wall of the vessel to the other of the electrodes. This tends to make the top of the box live and is there fore a source of danger to pedestrians and incidentally effects considerable loss of power. I avoid this difficulty by providing within the vessel a protecting hood or .petticoat soarranged as to prevent the formation of a continuous leakage-path by the formation of dust from the abrasion of the electrodes. This part of my invention will be more clear] y understood by reference to the drawings and the description thereof.

' Other parts of my invention relate to the means for securing the vessel in the contactbox and connecting its interior electrically with the source of electric supply and to the construction of the vessel containing the circuit-closer; and myinvention therefore consists generally in the improved construction, combination, and arrangement of parts pointed out hereinafter and in the appended claims. Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a i ftrans verse section of a contact-box embody- Be it known that I, WILLIAM MILtuBRowN, 1 of Johnstown, in the county of Cambria and ing my invention, and Fig.2 is a plan view of the vessel which contains the circuit-closer. Fig. 3 is a sectionalview showing the connections from the feeder to the bottom of the ves- 5 5 sel containing the circuit-closer.

A and A represent the upper and lower members of the vessel containing the circuiticloser. These membersare mainlycomposed of insulating material and are clamped together by means of a clamping-ring F, engaging member A and screwed to a ring-nut E, engaging the member A, a suitable bushing 6 being preferably interposed between the members A and A. I have found this to be a most advantageous form of coupling for switch-containing vessels of this character in that it provides a very perfect seal for the same, while at the same time being capable of being quickly taken apart. Within this ves- 7o sel is the circuit-closer, composed, substantially, of the carbon electrode B, ball D, and mercury D. Theball D is the movable member of the circuit-closer and is adapted to be magnetically attracted by a traveling magnet 7 5 passing over the cover J of the box, the cover shown being of that type which is formed of two sides of magnetizable material connected by. a center of non-magnetizable material. Mercury D is connected with the source of supply by means of a metallic nut c, which is set into a hole in the bottom of the lower member A, springs H, a terminal G, engaged thereby, and a feed-wire K, secured to the said terminal.

The terminal is embedded in a circular insulator L, secured to an open-top vessel M. This rests in a cavity in the bottom member J of the box and is secured to a tube h which surrounds the feeder K. The electrode B, preferably of carbon, is in connection with the contact portion or top J'of the box by means of the metal bolt b, screwed ,into the nut, which is formed in the upper wall of the vessel member A and has a threaded end which screws into the top J of the box. Hitherto vessels of this character have usually been secured in place by fastening them at their lower parts to some part corresponding to the terminal G. The presentfastening is,

however, a distinct improvement over this, for the removal of the top J of the box removes the vessel with it, and no time is lost in the operation of the road to remove the vessel from the box. Furthermore, the fastening of the top of the vessel to the top of the box instead of fastening the bottom of the vessel to the base renders it less liable to be broken by the hoofs of horses or other shocks given to the top of the box, for a shock imparted to the box through the cover would not subject the vessel to a severe strain, as the cover and vessel are substantially a unitary structure.

The means I provide for preventing leakage from the electrode B to the mercury D is as follows: A hood or petticoat C is carried by the member I) so as to interpose between the electrode B and the wall of the cup a protecting-wallnot in contact with the mercury D. This construction forms the principal feature of my invention.

It will be seen thatthe inevitable abrasion of electrode B will tend to produce flying carbon-dust. By providing the hood 0, having a projecting lower end, the formation of a continuous conducting-path of accumulated carbon-dust between B and D is prevented.

I have shown a hood of considerable length nowhere in contact with the walls of the vessel; but this is not essential to myinvention, the essential feature being that the formation of any dust, such as carbon-dust, on the Walls of the vessel shall be at some point rendered non-continuous by means of a downwardlyprojecting hood. I, however, deem the form of hood shown a preferable one, especially for the particular type of circuit-closer employed, as it is separated by the boltb from the walls of the vessel at all points and prevents the formation of dust on any part of the walls of the vessel.

To show a finished structure, I have shown many details of construction entirely immaterial to the present invention, and I therefore lay no claim to these. Many of them, so far as the present application is concerned, are part of the prior art. On the other hand,

I do not at all limit myself to the specific construction by which I have illustrated my present invention, as these may be modified in many ways by those skilled in the art without departing outside the scope of my invem tion.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a vessel, conducting, members forming part of a circuit-closer, and contained within said vessel, and ahood having a vertically-projecting end arranged to prevent a continuous coating of dust from accumulating on the walls of the vessel between the said conducting members.

2. The combination of a vessel, a circuitcloscr within the same, a carbon electrode forming part of the same, asecond electrode, and a downwardly-projecting hood preventing a continuous coat of carbon-dust from accumulating on the walls of the vessel between the said electrodes.

3. The combination in an electric contact box, of the vessel, electrodes B and D therein connected respectively to the contact-section and to the source of electric supply, and the hood 0 interposed between the electrode 13 and the Wall of the vessel and separated from the latter.

4. The combination in an electric contactbox, of the vessel, the carbon electrode therein, a member Z) connecting the same with the contact portion of the box, and retaining it .out of contact with the wall of the vessel, and

a hood interposed between the carbon electrode and the walls of the vessel and out of contact with the latter.

5. The combination, in an electric contactbox, of the metallic cover and the base forming the box, a closed vessel Within said box, a member securing the vessel to the said cover, a terminal in connection with the source of electric supply, spring-contacts secured to the base of said vessel and engaging said terminal, and a circuit-closer within the vessel electrically connected With said springcontacts and with the member securing the vessel to the cover.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

\V. hill/l. BROYVN.

\Vitnesses:

RICHARD EYRE, MYRTLE E. SHAnrn. 

